1. Field of the Invention
This invention related to ventilation of toilets, and specifically to ventilation devices detachably mounted to existing toilet facilities.
2. Prior Art
Many and varied devices have been disclosed for removing gases with unpleasant odors from a lavatory (toilet closet). Their common approach is to gather the gases from the toilet bowl before the gases escape into the lavatory.
Several devices employ a toilet seat with passageways leading from under the seat where it might collect gases to a hollow toilet seat hinge through which the gases are routed. A duct is then connected to the seat hinge and air is thus vented out of the lavatory. The duct can be unsightly and though functional, not welcome within a well-kept and decorated bathroom. Others employ a device that sits between the toilet seat and the toilet base that collects gases from the toilet bowl and routes it again to a hollow hinge and out a duct. Some also employ filters near the toilet. All of these prior devices require replacement of toilet hardware such as the toilet seat and cover and the hinge through which the seat and cover mount to the toilet base. This generally is an impediment to implementation and more so in temporary living quarters such as apartments where such devices would have to be removed and original hardware replaced when the tenants relocate, assuming the original hardware would be still available then. Prior toilet ventilation devices also are implemented integral with the toilet seat and/or hinge making them difficult if not impractical to clean, which is wholly unacceptable.
The primary object of this invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive device mounted inconspicuously on an existing toilet without removing or replacing any toilet hardware such as the seat, cover, hinges, base or tank. Another object is that the device be detachably mounted, lending itself to facile removal for cleaning. A further object is to provide a device that exploits an existing toilet room ventilation fan and duct.
These objects are achieved in an exhaust head mounted detachably to a toilet side with a collection portion extending inward toward the toilet bowl between the toilet base and toilet seat. The collection portion is necessarily thin to fit between the toilet base and the toilet seat and wide to enable sufficient volume, limited in width by the location of seat supports under the seat that space the seat apart from the base; the collection portion is intended to fit between seat supports or between a seat support and the seat hinge.
Typically, the head is attached by means of a mild magnet attached with adhesive to the toilet base side and a matching ferromagnetic material on the head aligned with the magnet. The head is easily removed for cleaning simply by gently pulling the head away from the toilet base. Clearly, there are a number of ways that the head can be attached to the toilet base. The mild magnet is illustrative of one of those ways but other ways are deemed to be included in the scope of this invention.
So the head is largely inconspicuous the head conforms to the shape of the toilet base rim as it proceeds rearward along the toilet base from the collection portion with a thin profile until it ends at a rearward opening with a through passageway between the collection portion and the rearward opening. A flexible tube connects to the rearward portion, bending to allow the head to be removed from the toilet for cleaning.
A lavatory outlet duct shaped to inconspicuously runs along the lavatory wall and ceiling provide fluid communication between flexible tube and the lavatory vent. The duct cross section maybe triangular to fit along a corner or flat and thin to run along a wall and ceiling. A fan operating within the room vent draws gas from the head collection portion and out the room vent.
To enhance the draw, the room vent is closed during operation of the toilet facilities. A vent insert, to which the lavatory vents are connected, installed between the existing vent cover and the vent duct closes the vent. The insert has a first plurality of slots that provide airflow in cooperation with the room vent cover. To close the insert slots, the insert includes a battery-operated solenoid that shifts a slotted cover plate between an open position in which this second plurality of slots align with the first plurality of slots and a closed position in which the second plurality of slots do not align, the cover plate then covering the first plurality of slots.